7 Days Mount Kilimanjaro climbing - umbwe route

DAY 1

UMBWE GATE (5249ft) - UMBWE CAMP (9,514ft)

First things first, we will drive from Moshi to machame gate and handle all the formalities, after that we will leave to umbwe gate, journeying along coffee and banana plantation. Upon arrival we start hiking through the rainforest going onto a mountain ridge.

Elevation: 5,249ft to 9,514ft

Distance: 11 km/7 miles

Hiking Time: 5-7 hours

Habitat: Heath

DAY 2:

UMBWE CAMP (9,514ft) - BARRANCO CAMP (13,044ft)

Today’s hike will take us from umbwe camp to barranco camp. The path is rocky and passes through the senecio forest. Kilimanjaro can be seen as we gain more altitude. We will spend the night at barranco camp

Umbwe Camp to Barranco Camp

Elevation: 9,514ft to 13,044ft

Distance: 6 km/4 miles

Hiking Time: 4-5 hours

Habitat: Heath

DAY 3

Barranco Camp - Karanga Camp

Today we will proceed to acclimatize, in preparation for an upcoming summit push. We will hike the intimidating barranco wall, and from the top we go on a wavering sequence of ridges and valleys before arrival at karanga camp. This is short day to allow enough acclimatization chance.

Elevation: 13,044ft – 13, 106ft

Distance: 5km

Hiking time: 4 -5 hours

Habitat: alpine desert

DAY 4

Karanga Camp- Barafu Camp

After breakfast we proceed hiking and reach the intersection which joins with mweka trail. We will then continue to barafu hut where early dinner will be offered as we prepare for summit. The peaks of kibo and mawenzi can be vividly seen here.

Elevation: 13,106ft -15,331ft

Distance: 4km

Hiking time: 4 – 5 hours

Habitat: alpine desert

DAY 5

BARAFU CAMP (15,331ft) -UHURU PEAK (19,341ft)- MWEKA CAMP (10,065ft).

Around midnight you will be woken up to start our trek to the summit. This part is more challenging compared to the other parts of trekking. After packing snacks we will start trekking to the summit between the rebman and ratzel glaciers through heavy scree up to Stella point on the crater rim.

After reaching stella point we will take a short break and stare at the most beautiful sunrise you are ever likely to see (weather permitting), from there we might encounter snow all the way up to the summit. After reaching the highest peak in Africa, take as many pictures as you can and indulge in your victory, your time here will be brief to avoid altitude sickness.

Start your descent to mweka hut campsite, making a stop at barafu camp for lunch, the trail is a bit rocky and can be harmful to the knees so trekking poles can be helpful here, after reaching the camp we will have our last dinner on the mountain and get some rest.

Distance: 5 km

Hiking Time: 7-8 hours

Habitat: Arctic

DAY 6

MWEKA CAMP (10,065ft) -MOSHI

This will be the last day of our trekking and we will begin it after having a tasty breakfast in the camp, our trek to the mweka gate will take about three hours. After reaching the gate you will be awarded with a gold certificate for successfully reaching the summit after that we will head to mweka village and meet our driver who will take you back to your hotel for a long well-earned rest.

Distance Covered: 9.1km

Time to be used: 3hrs

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch